Necessary Roughness (HotShots Book 1) (5 page)

S
ophie

“
T
hat was
the fastest six weeks of my life,” Nic tells me as he finished up PT today. He’s gotten so good at it, his knee has gotten so strong.

“I told you it would be that way,” I remind him. “You just needed to put your mind to it.”

“He put his mind to something,” Shorty pipes up from the corner chair, where he’s been answering emails on his phone. I roll my eyes at him. He and I patched up our differences a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t hold his asshole ways against him. He didn’t mean anything by them.

But he knows… one little toe out of line again, and he’ll answer directly to me.

I truly think I scare him.

“The independent physical therapist is going to be here in ten minutes,” he reminds us. “For the assessment. I don’t want to stress you out, Nicky, but this is going to determine the rest of your professional life.”

Nic rolls his eyes, and I smile. “Don’t worry,” I tell him. “You’re ready. You’ve got this.”

He nods, and drinks a bottle of water, and a few minutes later, a man comes in, with an expressionless face and a clip-board.

“Nicky Chase?” he asks, as if he doesn’t know. Nic nods, and they begin the assessment. I sit next to Shorty with my fingernails between my teeth.

It seems to take forever, but in reality it only takes fifteen minutes before the PT scribbles notes down and finally looks up.

“Well, Mr. Chase. Welcome back to the New Orleans Sinners. I’m going to recommend that you be off two more weeks, and then you should be good to play.”

Nic stares at him. “That’s your recommendation?”

The guy nods. “Yes. Can I have your autograph?”

I want to roll my eyes, but don’t. Nic signs something for him, and when he’s gone, Nic grabs me into his arms.

“I couldn’t have done that without you.”

“I know,” I agree.

“You little snot,” he grins.

I nod. “I know.”

“I love you,” he blurts out, and then he looks terrified and Shorty and I both stare at him.

“What did you say, bro?” Shorty stammers, and I glare at him.

“Stay out of this. What di you say Nic? Repeat it.”

He still looks like a deer in the headlights, but he swallows hard and says it again.

“I love you.”

I smile and I feel the warmth of it all the way down to my toes.

“I love you, too.”

And I do.

I can’t believe it.

I love Nicky Chase.

My Nic.

He grabs my hand.

“Let’s go out and celebrate.”

I’m astounded again. “Out of the house?” He hasn’t been out of the house in weeks and weeks. But he nods.

“Yeah. Out of the house. You and me.”

“Yes,” I whisper. “Of course. I’d love to.”

He grins and the world stops and I love Nicky Chase.

And even better, Nicky Chase loves me.

My Nic.

He laughs and leads me down the hall so that he can change his clothes, and then we walk out of the house together, into the light.

Into the reporters waiting to take his picture.

Into the public.

But none of it matters.

All that matters is that he looks down at me and smiles.

And then winks.

Because he’s
my Nic.

T
he End

C
ourtney Cole is
a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who specializes in dark romance, and dark psychological suspense.

She loves a good twisty story with a happy ending.

She currently lives in Florida, where she writes beneath palm trees. To learn more about her, visit
www.courtneycolewrites.com

I
f you’d like
to read full-length novels by Courtney, check these out:

The Nocte Trilogy:

Nocte
,
Verum
,
Lux

T
he Nocte Trilogy
is a heart-wrenching, soul-twisting drop down a rabbit-hole, a tale of love, illusion, and loss.

The darkness is coming.

The darkness is coming.

The darkness is coming.

Are you scared?

***

Dear Reader,

I once considered not writing this story. It was too dark, too twisted, too much, too, too, too.

Obviously, I changed my mind. But I re-wrote it in four different ways first, trying to make it different, more easily palatable, softer.

It didn’t work.

So I went back to my original idea, the idea that I loved. The idea that I dreamed about and lived and breathed until it was done the way I wanted it, the way it has to be.

I know you’re capable of reading it. I know you’re capable of putting yourselves back together again when it’s all over. I have faith in you.

Is this story dark?

Yes.

It is twisted?

At times.

W
ill
it slap you in the face?

Absolutely.

W
ill
it have you flipping the pages, trying to figure it out, trying to get to the climax, trying to breathe?

God, I hope so.

I
wrote
this story the way it needed to be written. I couldn’t sugarcoat it. I couldn’t water it down. It is this way because the story demands it.

I
’m not sorry
.

T
he Beautifully Broken Series
:

If You Stay
,
If You Leave,
Before We Fall,
Until We Fly

B
ecause we’re all
a little broken, aren’t we?